Woolmark introduces first Recycled Wool specification as part of 60th anniversary

Woolmark has expanded its certification programme to now include a specification for recycled wool, making it the first time in the company’s 60 year history that it will apply its certification to a recycled fibre.

The new ‘Recycled Wool’ sub-brand falls under the RW-1 Specification, and marks “a significant step towards a more sustainable textile industry”.

With the specification, Woolmark said it will ensure that certified products contain at least 20 percent recycled wool, while additionally meeting the Woolmark Certification Programme’s quality standards.

Associated products can include recycled wool from both pre-consumer sources –fabric cutting waste, for example– and post-consumer sources.

In a release, John Roberts, managing director of The Woolmark Company, said: “Wool is the most recycled apparel fibre globally. Our new Recycled Wool mark supports the shift from a linear to a circular production model, reducing waste and pollution.”

Roberts went on to note that despite wool accounting for 1 percent of the apparel fibre market, the creation of the sub-brand was to “promote the reuse and repurposing of this remarkable fibre” in order to help advance the material’s use in new categories to keep it in circulation for longer.

The introduction of Recycled Wool builds on the long-spanning efforts of Woolmark and its logo, which has been in circulation since 1964 and has strived to advance a more circular industry by supporting the development of natural, long-lasting products.